Grain door for box cars



Dec. 4, 1928. 1,694,180

N. JOHNSON ET AL GRAIN DOOR FOR BOX CARS Filed July 14, 1927 2 Sheets- Sheet 1 T Dec. 4, 1928. 1,694,180

If]. JOHNSON ET AL GRAIN DOOR FOR BOX CARS Filed July 14, 1927 2 Sheets-$heet 2 firm "0,1 V

Patented Dec. 4, 1928. mi;

- UNITED. STATES PAIATE NT- OFFICE.

NOAH JOHNSON ANn LOUIS n. STRASSER, QF-STI-LOUIS, MISSOURI;

I GRAIN noon FOB BOX cans.

Application filed ul 14;

' fixture in the car, as distinguished from the temporary wooden closure which isremoved each time the car is unloaded, but itmay .be supplied as a unit or attachment capable of being affixed to the inside-of any steel or wooden boxcar, thus becoming part of the car equipment.

The door which is the subject of the inventionis composed of a series or set of sections which may be of sheet steel orsany suitable material. These sections areofrelatively small area and light weight, capable of being slid upwardly into longitudinal ways near the root, along which ways the sections are moved longitudinally of the car away from the door opening,-sothat the entire set of sections forming the door may be thus stored near the top ofthe car without obstructing the doorway or the storage space and be instantaneously returned to their respective positions in the doorway, in which positions they rest with thetop and bottom edgesiof the adjacent sections in contact, the end edges engaging the sides of theopening,

which sides are provided with vertical ways which are so aligned with. the longitudinal ways as to permit thesections to pass from engagement with one set of ways into engagement with the other set of ways, i. e., from the longitudinal ways-to the vertical ways an'dvice versa', I

The construction of the invention,"in addition to the, foregoing, ,has allthe advantages of the temporary wooden door in that the door opening is graduallyclosed, the door being built up section by section from the bottormas the sectionsare moved downwardly into place, supporting the load as the bulk cargo accumulates to a higher and higher level within the car, at the'sa-Inetime offering the minimum of obstruction to the admission of the commodity being loaded.

Not only may the construction be formedin sections, dividing the area of the door in the direction of its height, but it may also be divided in a horizontal idirectiomthe meet- 75-5 of Figure 1.

1927 'sai am20 1a1 f ing ends of the sections being supportedby means of UPIlglltSWhlCll, when thedoor sections are remo'vech swing upwardly against,

the: root of the car; It is, however, not regartied as an essential feature of the invention inits'broadest conception that the secas to the 'vertical'dimension. V V A 'In the accompanying drawings we have illustrated a gram car door embodying the tions be divided as tothehoriz'ontal as .well

features ofour invention inthe preferred form, together with so much of a box freight car construction as is regarded as desirable to a full comprehension; of the invention and same.

In the drawings: I

Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section ot-a box car, one end beingbroken away for convenience'ofillustration, the door being shown closed as seen from the inside of the car. f

- Figure 2 is a horizontal section on the line 2-'2 of Figure l'looking downwardly at the longitudinal supporting rail.

Figure 3is a transverse section on th 3.3 of Figure 1 looking to the right.

Figure t'is a section on the line 4;4 of

Figure 1. i

Figurev 5 is a section through the upright thc sectionswh'en the door is divided horizontally, the same being taken on the'line Figure 6isa perspective viewof oneot the door sections." 7 I 1 Figure 7 is a View looking atthe longitudinal rail or support fromthe inner end towa rdthe center of the door, the same being taken. from the line 7.? of Figure 1.

I Figure 8 is a section on theline 8+8 atthe bottom 01 the intermediate. support, showing the manner offastening thefsanie.

;Figure 9lis asection onthe-line 99 of Figurel. f I

"Referringto; the drawings by numerals, each of which is used to indicatethe same or similar parts in the different figures, the construction shown comprises a freight car body l which may be of anytype available. This freight car bodyfhas the usual or any suitable sideopening 2 whichmay. be closed by the usual-external sliding door, not shown. In accordance with the present inventionthe door openi'ng is closed independently of the usual sliding door or other closure which,

the manner of operating and applying the line when opened, exposes the entire vertical len 11 of the door opening.

e improved closure, in accordance with the invention'comprises a series of closing means referred to as sections or plates, which may be successively operated to close the door openin from the bottom up and which, in opening 518 door are operated in reverse succession from the top down, the said members bein moved successively ineach in stance. n the form of the invention. illustrated, the series of separate closing members is shown in the form of plates or sections 3 seated at their ends in the closed position of the door in vertical grooves or ways 4 which may be formed in or on the door jambs 5 in any suitable manner as by aflixing thereto along the side or vertical ed es of the opening, small strips 6 provided wit grooves 4, or other means adapted to serve as ways. These members are inwardly disposed toward the door 0 ening, the wa s being shown on the inside 0 the, jamb so that the closing means of the invention ma be placed on the inside of the car, as alr ea( y specified.

In the form of the invention illustrated, one of said channel members 6 is shown on each side of the door opening and the outside end edges of the plates 3' are engaged therewith or therein.

In accordance with the preferred form of V the invention illustrated, the plates or closing members 3 composing the series are dis vided transversely to their horizontal dimension or length and there is an upright sup-- port 8 intermediate of the horizontal dimension of the door opening. This support, which is shown in the preferred form in horizontal section in Figure 5, is ooved vertically or provided with vertica waysat 9, 9 at each sideto receive or engage the corresponding adjacent ends of the plates 3.

In order to avoid the obstruction of the door opening which would result from locating this upright support ermanently at an intermediate position in t e door opening, it is preferably made removable and, in the form of the invention shown, it is hinged at the top at 10 to the inside of the car so that it may be swun backwardly and upwardly against the cei mg or roof 11, and to reduce the radius of the swing this upright support has been shown as made in sections 14 and 15 hinged intermediatel at 12 so that the lower section 14 may be fblded forward- 1 beneath the top section 15, the folded upright being shown as supported on a hook 16 w ich is secured to the roof or ceiling. The hinging of the upright at the intermediate oint 12 is not essential to. the invention and it may be considered desirable for certain purposes to omit the hinged joint at the center. p

The manner of removing the plates from the door opening and supporting them forwardly and rearwardly of thedoor opening, preferably against the sides of the car near the top so that the top of the door opening and all other are available or admission and removal'ot" the car o, is of particular interest. In the form of the invention shown, this comprises a longitudinal slotted way or support shown in the form of slotted tubular members 18 which are preferably secured to the side wall of the car,extendingin a fore and aft direction. In the form shown, where a central upright is used, these members extend to the front and rear from each side of the cen tral upright.

The plates or closure members 3 are shown as provided with lateral hooks or tabs 20 and 20', which may be conveniently formed by cutting the top edge of each plate in such manner as to provide tabs or lateral projections, the inner edge of which makes an acute angle with the lateral edge of the plate. The tabs or lateral projections are then bent so that a plane passed through the tab will form substantially a. right angle with a plane passed through the plate. These tabs or lateral projections are equally spaced so that the tabs on the difierent sections reigster with each other or lie in vertical alignment in the closed position of the door, and tabs 20 and 20 are preferably oppositely or differently inclined, as shown particularly in Figure 1, and the tabs of each set 20 and 20 respectively, move in two corresponding vertical paths as the sections are operated. The supports or ways 18 which are preferably slotted longitudinally at 22 toadmit the top edges of the plates 3, the slots 22 being aligned with the grooves lat the sides, and the grooves 9 in the central support are formed with transverse slots 25 and 25' in the paths of the tabs or projections 20 and 20' res ctively, which members 20 and 20' act as hoo s enga ing with the way 18, as shown in Figure I, to support the plates 3 in open position. It is of importance to note that the arrangement of slots 25, 25 and hooks 20 and 20 enable the tabs of each set to pass both ways through the corresponding slots and to bridge and pass over the slots provided for the tabs of the other set.

It is, therefore, apparent that as each section is moved upwardly and reaches the top of the door opening, the top edges of the plates 3 will enter-the longitudinal slots 22, or otherwise come into operative relation with the ways 18, and the hooks or projections 20 ortions of the door opening and 20 will pass through the transverse slots 25 and 25f and the plates being then moved laterally, i. e., in the direction of their length and of the length of the car, to the right or theinvention shown, further securing and.

supporting means for the sections: may be provided in the form of bottom guide-rails'26. These rails, as shown, are secured tothe side of the car, spaced downwardly from the top rails 18 by a distance slightly less than the width of one plate 3, i. e., the plates extend within both grooves which take up a portion of their width. The member 26 may be merely ofiset as to its upper portions, asshown in Figure 9, to provide a longitudinal groove 27 when the strip is secured to the car wall to re-' ceive the bottom edges of the plates adjacent to the sides of the car. These guide rails serve to prevent swinging of the plates and particularly serve, in closing the door, to guide the bottom edges into registration with the vertical grooves or ways 4' and 9, the top edges being led directly into the grooves by a slot 22 in the longitudinal top rail 18.

In the operation of the closure or door, to close the same the upright member 8 is first released from the hook 16, being swung downwardly about the hinge 10, andthe lower section is further rotated about the hinge 12 intermediately of the bar bringing the upright into vertical position. The bottom end 13, restingagainst the abutment, is then se cured by means of the fastening 30.

The fastening 30, in the form of the invention shown, consists of a rotary. vertically sliding bolt having swinging horizontal arm 32 at its lower end which moves downwardly into locked position through a'slot 33 in the floor, said bolt having a horizontal radial handle lever 84 at its upper end by which the bolt is moved up and down through the slot and rotated to carry the arm 32 out of registration wlth the slot. The arms are prefer ably at right angles to each other, so that.

when the top arm is turned to lieagainst the rail the bottom arm is at right angles to its slot 33, which is at right angles to the plane of the door. The bolt is held in vertically sliding relation to the door by U shaped 1 J. 9''

plate 0 l.

The sections 3 are moved to closed posi tion in the reverse order to that in which they were raised and stowed, the section which is first on one side. it being immaterial which site is operated first, being moved laterally along the supporting rail 18 and the guide rail 26 until it lies in the door opening. The.

edges of the plate or section are thus brought into registration with the vertical grooves or guides 9 in the intermediate upright, if there is one, and t on or in the jamb at the side of the door.

It is to be particularly noted that the bottom guide 26 in cooperation with the top guide or rail 18 serves to hold the plate in such position that its forward end edge as it moves-into the doorway, isguided into the corresponding slot or grooves 9 and 4:. When the plate or section reaches this position with its, edgesin registration withthe groove or guides 1 and 9, the supports or tabs 20 are likewise broughtinto registration with the slotsl25 in the supporting rails 18 whereby the plate or section thus operated. is-released from thetop rail or longitudinalsupport 18 and permitted to move downwardly with itsv edges in the vertical grooves i, 9, it being understood. thatthe bottom rail 26 is, discontinued at the ambs. The two plates supported by the top rail 18ynearest the doorway on each side in the open positionof the door occupy in the closed position of the door the bottom of the doorway, these twoplates be ing indicated. in Figure 1 showing the closed position by reference character 3.. In closing the door the plates are moved down successively, as described, and take successive and corresponding positions in the doorway, being located with the top and bottom. edges of the adjacent plates in contact and their edges engaging the vertical grooves or guides, as illustrated in Figure 1.

The car may, as alreadysuggested, be pro vided with the usual sliding door, covering the sectional closure, the sectional closure being for the purpose of holding a bulk cargo,

as grain, to permit it to be unloaded without loss, the top sections being, in the opening operation, first removed from the door opening and stowed, as illustrated, in the top of thecar near the sides, and as the cargo is removed the sections of the closure are successively moved upwardly and stowed in the ways or rails 18, '26, as already described. Pins 43 or other means may be provided to prevent the displacement of the sections from their open position from which they might tendto enter the doorway by sliding along therails. These pins may he seated'in the car wall or in upright channel members 6. The center post may to advantage be pro vided with an abutment member for preventing the accidental movement of thev plates into the doorway when the post: is removed from closed position. For this purpose we WVhatwe claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: 5

A closure for a door opening comprising a plurality of sections, upright guides and longitudinal substantially horizontal sup: tie

porting ways extending across the top of door opening and to one side thereof, whereby the sections may be arranged in vertical series to close the door opening and supported in longitudinal arrangement at the sides of the door opening, the sections having hooks for engaging the supporting ways, there being a plurality of hooks on each section, the corresponding hooks on each section forming a plurality of series, the longitudinal Ways having slots to correspond to and pass each series of hooks, the hooksin each series being differently arranged from the hooks of the other series whereby the hooks of each series are enabled to bridge and be supported across the slots corresponding to the other series. I

Signed by us at St. Louis, Missouri, this 22nd day of June, 1927.

NOAH JOHNSON.

LOUIS H. STRASSER. 

